Not long before the famed Titanic-iceburg encounter, another ship is supposed to have tried to forward an iceburg warning to the Titanic. The Titanic’s telegraph operater, who was busy sending passengers’ personal messages, is said to have replied “shut up, shut up, I’m working cape race”. I’ve seen this quote several times, but the meaning of the phrase is never explained.
The Titanic was about 400 miles south of Newfoundland when it hit the iceberg. Cape Race is the easternmost point of Newfoundland, and for centuries has been marked with a lighthouse for navigation purposes, and presumably also radio facilities when they first came into navigational use.
I’ve always assumed that the Titanic operator was sending messages to Cape Race, for relay on to the mainland, because the ship’s radios of the time weren’t strong enough to reach the mainland directly.
And presumably, Cape Race would only be in range for a limited time. So the Titanic’s telegraph operator needed to try to get as many messages out as possible while he could. Thanks, Northern Piper.
you’re welcome